We are all up against a relentless stream of competing demands when we are trying to write. These demands often seem urgent, and while they can be compelling and tantalizing, they also represent ever-present obstacles to getting our writing done. To combat this problem, and better enable yourself to achieve your writing goals, author, professor, and writing coach Kathleen P. King suggests that you become the master of your writing universe.
Timesaving tech tip: Customize and create styles for consistent, instant document formatting
I’ve got my own writing style. I’m sure you do too. Regardless, you likely have editors, publishers, and/or teachers who insist on specific style requirements that can be quite tedious and time-consuming to apply on a document by document basis.
Timesaving tip: Customize and create styles for consistent and instant formatting.
To rejuvenate, consider closing your writing shop
Are you dragging when you think about your current writing project, or writing itself? Do you long to regain that old surge and rush of excitement? Maybe, like companies that close temporarily for renovation or universities that close for a holiday break, you need to close your writing shop for some needed rejuvenation.
It’s tough, I know. When we think of closing, even for a little while, a heap of ingenious excuses rear up. Any of these sound familiar?
Featured Member Erin McTigue – Exploring new terrain: Mentoring academic authors across the pond
Erin McTigue is exploring new terrain, recently embarking on a unique adventure in her academic career. After resigning her post as an associate professor at Texas A&M University and Associate Director of Texas A&M’s POWER writing services program, this fall Erin stepped into the position of Associate Professor II at the National Reading Education and Research Center of Norway, within the University of Stavanger. A full-time, flexible position, Erin will split her time between working remotely from her home in Texas and traveling to Norway for a few weeks each quarter.
In addition to conducting her on research and academic writing projects, Erin will present writing workshops, facilitate writing retreats, and work one-on-one with graduate students and junior faculty to help them create their optimal writing practices.
#AcWriChat re-caps on getting organized, writing productivity, finalizing and publishing your work
TAA and Janet Salmons from SAGE Methodspace co-hosted a series of Tweetchats for the exchange of ideas and resources about academic writing and publishing using the hashtag #AcWriChat.
View a recap of the 11/3 Tweet Chat – Get Organized
View a recap of the 11/17 Tweet Chat – Writing Productivity
View a recap of the 12/1 Tweet Chat – Finalizing and Publishing Your Work
NIH issues statement encouraging authors to publish NIH-funded research papers in reputable journals
In a statement released November 3, 2017, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) encouraged authors to publish NIH-funded research papers in reputable journals “to protect the credibility of published research.”
According to the statement: “The NIH has noted an increase in the numbers of papers reported as products of NIH funding which are published in journals or by publishers that do not follow best practices promoted by professional scholarly publishing organizations.”